Chapter 4

The Stranger Who Helped Them Live

Rocky laid on the cold, dewy grass as early morning fog lazily drifted overhead. He was thinking about his new traveling companions and their unique situation. But most of all he was thinking about Ba Sing Se. He pulled out the old portrait from his traveling bag and unfolded the yellow paper. There sat a happy woman with her happy child, but Rocky knew the truth behind this painting.

Toren suddenly began to stir beside him so he hurriedly put the picture back in his bag.

"Okay, rise and shine, fugitives," said Toren as he rose to his feet. He was answered by several moans and grunts.

Before long they had packed all their things again and had left no trace of the fire or of where they slept. They moved on, the mountains getting closer every second. Rocky knew they were about half a day's journey from the mountain pass, but he also knew that once they had entered the mountains it would be all too easy for the Underground Army to pin them down. He only prayed that they had lost track of them back in the old village.

Then he looked up and saw the mountain face looming over him. They had finally arrived at the mountain pass. Now of course it would have been much easier to take the new, paved road through the mountains, but they couldn't run the risk of using the main road. So they followed an old trail up the left side of the mountains which looked like it had not been used in many years.

At first the trip was nearly enjoyable, beginning with a slight uphill slope which lead through a grassy field. But from there it gradually became far more difficult. Soon they were climbing over boulders, trudging over loose stones and gravel, and before too long they had found themselves in a narrow trench that cut through the side of the west mountain. There was a decent sized path on the left, but on the right it dropped off into what they assumed to be a roaring river down below. It most likely went under the mountain and then remerged somewhere in the countryside.

"Stay close, everyone," said Toren at one point. If Rocky had been harbouring any fear about treading in this unstable ravine they were immediately washed away when he heard the sound of Toren's voice again. Knowing that there was an earth-bender nearby comforted him immensely.

"Hey, guys? I've been thinking," Ann said. It was the first time she had spoken in a few days. "Has it seemed oddly peaceful these last couple of days?"

"What do you mean?" asked Leena.

"Well, not to sound ungrateful, but we haven't seen or heard anything of The Army for a while. Don't you think we'd have run into them again by now?"

Just then there was a quiet rumbling coming from all around. A few rocks fell here and there, tumbling down into the river, and then all was quiet again.

"Don't say stuff like that, Ann! You're gonna jinx us!" said Razou angrily.

"Sorry," Ann mumbled.

"But she does have a point," Rocky said after a moment. "You said these guys are really good at what they do. So why haven't we had more run ins with them?"

Then Toren, who had been leading the group, said, "Well maybe they're just waiting..." he trailed off suddenly as he stopped and looked up. "...for the right time to attack..." There was a split second between here and the events that happened next. "Get back!" Toren yelled as the whole ravine began to tremble and large boulders and rocks started to fall from overhead. The path ahead was instantly blocked, so that only left them with the option of getting out the way they had come in. Each one of them did their best to use their bending against the falling stones, but Toren was outdoing them all.

Rocky had a sinking feeling in his stomach, as if he knew there was no way they would ever make it out of this alive. Now all of them had been running single file the way they had come but since they had all turned around now Leena was at the front and Toren was at the back. Rocky was just in front of Toren. Then, before they had even made it half-way back, Rocky heard a loud scream come from behind him, "Rocky! Help!" he turned and saw Toren standing underneath an avalanche of stone that, in a split second, pushed him over the edge of the narrow path, but Rocky didn't stop running. Something, fear, adrenaline, was telling him to get out of the ravine at any cost.

"Toren!" Ann screamed as she raced back to help. Soon the others were right behind her.

BANG!

A massive boulder shook the ground and then the stone beneath them started to crumble.

BANG!

A second boulder hit. This time the ledge gave out completely. Rocky tried to grab onto anything he could, but his fingers slipped and before he knew it he was free falling down into the ravine alongside the others.

"Everyone! Hold your breath!" Rocky thought he heard Ann yell.

SPLASH!

Rocky was hit with a wall of icy cold wetness that stung his skin and pierced his body like a knife. He couldn't see anything except for the light overhead and the rushing water all around him. Boulders were still falling hard, and he had to swim with all his strength against the roaring current to avoid some of them. Up and down, swirling and tumbling he went down the river until he was suddenly dragged down by his leg. He couldn't breathe. Something, most likely a rock, was on top of his leg and he could move. The current was pulling him forward, hard, but the stone wouldn't give. Panic rose in his chest as he pleaded to be delivered from this travesty. He had never prayed before in his life, but now...

If Rocky were able scream, he would have. Something had grabbed hold of his wrist with a strong grip. He looked behind him and through the clear mountain water he could see a dark figure with bright glowing eyes and long hair that was flowing about in the water. For a moment he thought the figure looked vaguely familiar, then, everything was plunged into darkness. They were now underneath the mountain.

Rocky had never known fear as great as this. In the darkness he had no sense of direction or balance. Between the sporadic gasps of air he would find every now and then and the constant thrashing against the low cave roof he was thoroughly exhausted. Just as he was beginning to fade, he was pulled forward again by the strange, glowing-eyed figure from before. She was both great and terrifying. Then he let go.

Rocky woke up coughing on a sunny river bank. He had no idea how he had gotten there or how much time had passed. All he did know was that he was ready to sleep for the next one hundred years. His limbs were limp and throbbing, his chest was shaking with every breath, and his throat felt as if he had swallowed sandpaper. Furthermore, as he slowly became aware of all his senses again he found that he had gotten a rather large amount of water up his nose. It was quite some time before he had the strength to move again.

"Rocky? Leena? Leena, are you okay?" That sounded like Ann. Her voice was far away. There was a long pause and then he heard footsteps coming closer. "Rocky, are you okay?" Her voice was much closer now, and after all the water and the noise, her voice came like a clear, ringing bell that lifted his spirit.

"Yeah. I'm fine," Rocky said as he slowly sat up, and then realised that maybe he should have rested a bit longer.

"What about your leg? Does it hurt?" she asked hurriedly.

"My leg? What do you mean?" asked Rocky as he peered down and saw his right calf bruised and somewhat bleeding. How could he not have felt this earlier? Before too long, however, he did begin to feel it. His leg had been numbed from all the adrenaline, but now, the pain came in full force.

"Don't worry, I'll fix it," Ann said as she rushed over to his other side. Rocky had heard that Waterbenders could heal, but now he believed it. Ann later explained that The Army trained all its Waterbenders to heal and fight, but for the moment Rocky rested.

A little while later they heard footsteps coming from upstream. Rocky looked up and saw a bruised Leena and a black-eyed Razou carrying Toren, lifeless, in their arms. Fear rose again in Rocky's heart.

"Is he all right?" Ann asked as she rushed forward.

"He's alive," answered Razou. His voice was low and hoarse.

"Just unconscious," Leena continued with an equally hoarse voice. "But that's not the worst of it."

Ann had them set Toren down next to Rocky, who's leg was still throbbing but no longer bleeding, and looked at him from head to toe.

"His hands are broken, and his left kneecap feels..." Ann paused as she held back her squeamishness. "...shattered. He may also have a view bruised ribs. That combined with a mild concussion, it's a miracle he survived."

"Can you heal him?" asked Razou.

"The concussion and the bruises I can heal fairly quickly. It's the broken hands and his knee that will take some time." Ann breathed in a shaky breath as they all sat together in silence. As Rocky looked around he realised what a mess they all were. They were all drenched and shivering, having at least half of their clothes ripped or shredded, and the girls' hair had come undone. Now that it was all hanging limply he realised just how much hair they both had.

"How did we survive?" Rocky asked after a while. The others looked at him with confused faces.

"What do you mean?" Leena asked.

"You heard Ann, It's a miracle Toren survived, and quite frankly the same could be said about all of us. We were being buried alive while drowning in a river that took us underground. By all accounts we should be dead."

"Unless..." Leena stopped as suddenly as she had started.

"Unless someone saved us," Razou finished.

"The glowing lady," said Rocky in realisation.

"The what?" Ann blurted as she began to busy herself with Toren.

"Back there in the river I was pinned down by a rock or something and then there she was. She had these glowing white eyes and her hair was flowing all over the place. She moved so gracefully in the water, and then before I knew it she had set me free and then I went barrelling down into the caverns."

"I saw her too," said Leena. "She protected me from the falling rocks."

"And she helped me get to the surface for air," Razou joined in.

"What about up you, Ann?" asked Rocky. "Didn't you see her too?"

"Actually..." she watched the swirling healing water pass over Toren's forehead. "I can't remember much about the river at all. I remember falling, and I remember waking up on the riverbank, but I can't remember anything in between that. I must have gotten knocked out."

"All the more reason to assume that someone helped us. You would never have been able to survive on your own if you were unconscious," Razou stated.

"I suppose so," said Ann.

Toren suddenly sputtered to life and let out a heart wrenching wail. He was coughing up water and writhing to and fro.

"Toren! Toren, calm down! We're safe!" Ann cried. "Don't move, you've broken more bones today than I can care to count, you have to wait for me to heal them." Toren calmed at once but his breathing remained rapid. Only his chest moved as he breathed and even then it looked as if it pained him.

"Is everyone here?" Toren asked. "Is everyone okay?"

"Yes, we're here," said Leena as she leaned closer so he could see her.

"It takes more than a little rubble to kill us," Razou said with a grin. Toren managed a forced chuckle before his face became etched with pain again. Ann was now working on his ribs.

"Ann," he said after a while. "Why can't a feel my foot?"

"Your foot?" she asked, panic in her voice.

"My left foot," Toren clarified. "Why can't I feel it?"

Ann rushed to the end of Toren's injured leg and examined it again. His dark boots were still mostly intact but now she saw a large tear in the leather of the left boot. She slowly took it off and found a mangled, blue foot next to a terrible-looking gash in his ankle.

"Ann, why can't I feel my foot?" Toren asked again. "Why can't I feel my foot?!"

Telling Toren what had happened was the hardest thing any of them ever had to do. Things became even worse when Ann realised that there was no way for her to heal the mutilated foot. It had already lost too much blood and now the only thing left for them to do was remove the foot entirely. I will spare you the details.

It was late in the afternoon when Leena, Rocky, and Razou wandered into the nearest town. Ann and Toren had been left by the river to further clean his wounds. They wouldn't be able to move on until the next day at the earliest. But for the time being, they needed food and medical supplies. The three of them had taken a risk and asked for a ride in the back of a passing motor car which was towing a cart full of hay. Thankfully, due to being in the river, they looked quite unrecognisable. They were able to go into town and buy a decent meal without being troubled much either.

They were just leaving, however, when they heard a terrible sound.

"There he is! Don't let him get away!" Rocky knew that voice all too well. He turned just in time to see a skinny, witchly woman pointing straight at him. Two large, ape-like soldiers were already barrelling toward him.

"Run!" Rocky yelled as he led them down the street and behind a nearby restaurant. Leena used her powers to lift a melon cart over to the alleyway in an attempt to block the guards.

"What in the blazing bellows was that all about?" Razou cried.

"Yeah, they weren't the Underground," Leena agreed.

"There's no time to explain, come on!" Rocky exclaimed as he continued down the alley.

They emerged on another street with few pedestrians wandering about. They raced down the sidewalk and then turned a corner only to find themselves face to face with the two guards. They didn't wear armour, simply leather uniforms with a unsettling symbol imprinted on their chests. It looked like an arrow shooting through someone's hand.

"Enough running! You are coming back to the orphanage with us right now! You and your little friends!" one guard said.

"Orphanage?" Leena repeated.

"Keep dreaming!" said Razou as he lit the ground with bright yellow flames.

"Hold on to one another!" cried Leena as she propelled them all up and onto the roof of an inn using a large gust of wind. From there they leapt from rooftop to rooftop getting closer to the edge of town.

"We're almost—" but Rocky was cut short as he was yanked from the sky by a long black whip. Razou and Leena doubled back to find the witchly woman holding Rocky with the whip. Razou jumped down immediately to help, but was hit by a slab of flying stone which pinned him to the wall of a building and wrapped around him. Apparently those two guards were Earthbenders.

Leena leapt out of the way of their second attack and landed behind the witchly woman, knocking her down and releasing Rocky from the whip. Then she shrieked as the ground beneath her began to swallow her up. Rocky was helpless to do anything and soon Leena was buried up to her chin. The guards had turned the stone street into quicksand.

"You little brat!" spat the woman. "You put up a good fight, Rocky, but your new friends can't save you from justice!" She snapped her whip again but Rocky managed to avoid it this time. He started to run but she followed and her whip wrapped around his ankles causing him to fall over. "No more running, Rocky. This is the end."

"I'm not going back!" Rocky yelled.

"I'm afraid you dont have a choice, young man," said the woman. "Load them up, now!"

Razou, Leena, and Rocky were helpless as the two guards bound their hands with stone and threw them into the back compartment of a dark grey, metal truck. Soon after the engine sputtered to life and they were jolting down the road. Nothing was said for a moment.

"How did we lose?" Razou asked. "We're supposed to be specially trained elite warriors. How could we lose to a couple of brutes?"

"I don't know. Maybe it's because we're still a little shaky from the river?" Leena offered.

"I guess," muttered Razou. "But who are these guys, anyway? And why were they after you, Rocky?"

Rocky was silent for a moment. He knew it would be impossible to tell them the truth without telling the whole story, so he took a deep breath.

"I was born just one year before the earth queen died. She had never announced her wedding to the public, so I too was kept in the shadows. My father was a good man, a very old friend of my mom's, but when all was said and done, the government instated, the funeral done with, he was to broken hearted to take care of me. So when I was five he handed me over to an orphanage. That witch in the driver's seat is the headmistress, Lady Shareika. She is the worst person in the world and ruined my life. She had a spotless record at the orphanage and no one had ever managed to escape. And if they did they would be hunted down mercilessly. So I did what no one else was ever able to do: I ran away and lived on my own for the next few years until I wound up in that little Podunk town you found me in. But all the while I've been trying to get back to Ba Sing Se in the hopes of maybe finding my dad again."

"That's why you needed us to escort you," said Leena. "To protect you in case you ran into the orphanage people again."

"But none of that matters now," Rocky said, looking out the bared windows.

Back at the riverside Ann was still tending to Toren. She had mostly healed what was left of Toren's ankle when the sun had started to set.

"They should have been back by now," she said, slightly frustrated. "I can't keep doing this forever, we need those medical supplies."

"Ann, calm down," Toren said curtly as he laid motionless on the ground. "You're overreacting."

"Overreacting? Overreacting?!" Ann cried, getting to her feet. "We are on the run from an elite assassin organisation that nearly killed us today, and left you practically helpless! We have no idea if the Underground really thinks we're dead, you're not well enough to travel, and we need to get half-way across a continent to save the earth kingdom from a power hungry maniac! And unless those three get back here soon things could get a lot worse! Now tell me if you think I'm overreacting." Ann walked over to the water to wash her hands.

"Ann, I know this is bad, but you gotta get control of yourself," said Toren, a bit more gently. "The last thing we need is for one of us to be emotionally compromised. We're all each other has." Ann sighed and walked back over to his side so she could begin working on his knee cap.

"I'm sorry. I guess the pressure is just getting to me." They both sat in silence for a moment. "What about Rocky?" Ann asked suddenly.

"What about him?"

"You said we're all each other has, well... what about him? Can we count on him too?" When Ann asked this she wasn't necessarily accusing Rocky of being untrustworthy, but in a way she was asking Toren for permission to trust him. After all the criticism she had received from her traveling companions before on her willingness to trust others, she now felt as if she needed to have someone else's approval before making a decision like this.

"Well... to be perfectly honest I don't know," Toren said as he winced when Ann accidentally nudged his knee. "If you had asked me a few days ago I would have said that we could trust him as long as we were both keeping up our ends of the deal we struck back in the old village, but after today..."

"Why? What happened today?" Ann asked.

"He nearly let me die."